Edward and Bella #1

[moon sidhe]

Wow, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I haven't read that book since I was like, 14 or something. I should definitely re-read it again. Interesting parallel between Edward and Angel. I think they both represent this kind of 19th century male ideal - chivalrous, idealistic, intense, a strong sense of personal morals. I'm not sure I would call Edward disinterested though. I don't honestly remember Tess's character and her relationship with Angel well enough to elaborate any more than that. Sounds like there are some interesting parallels and divergences there though.

[Amivera]

I was thinking of the 'worshipful eyes'.
Yes, Edward wasn't disinterested, which made his love with Bella even MORE PERFECT!
=.=

For real?

[fiish3]

In Breaking Dawn, I found that the Edward and Bella relationship had changed a lot. There wasn't a lot of cute talk and just like kissing and stuff. That bugged me. It was like a lot of it was having sex....I don't know if anyone else felt that way.

I agree, In breaking dawn their relationship became more distant and mostly only about having sex.
that was really annoying, i liked how just one kiss or brushing a hand agaisnt her cheek or putting his lips against her throat was so romantic, then all of a sudden in breaking dawn that wasn't enough and they had to get into the physical aspect of their relationship. Dont get me wrong im glad that they were able to progress and grow but in BD i just felt like they didnt have alot of cute moments and conversations. I also was upset that Nessie changed their relationship, i liked how innocent they were, then nessie comes and Edward and Bella are like "mature" and Bella became this super-mom, that was annoying too. I felt bella really changed and she was distant from edward (not intentionaly, she was just busy being a mom).

But if you disreguard BD then Bella and Edward are just the cutest couple. I like how in the first 3 books they were innocent and new and that they had to sacrifice so much just to be together.In new moon, i felt thatadded a dynamic to their relationship, Edward really relizes that bella loves him and that was great. I was glad that they were able to have their happily ever after. I think they deserved it, after everything they've been through just to be together, it was great to see them finally happy and officially together.

And the wedding, that was just perfect. Loved it !

[iwantobeacullen16575]

In Breaking Dawn, I found that the Edward and Bella relationship had changed a lot. There wasn't a lot of cute talk and just like kissing and stuff. That bugged me. It was like a lot of it was having sex....I don't know if anyone else felt that way.

I agree, In breaking dawn their relationship became more distant and mostly only about having sex.
that was really annoying, i liked how just one kiss or brushing a hand agaisnt her cheek or putting his lips against her throat was so romantic, then all of a sudden in breaking dawn that wasn't enough and they had to get into the physical aspect of their relationship. Dont get me wrong im glad that they were able to progress and grow but in BD i just felt like they didnt have alot of cute moments and conversations. I also was upset that Nessie changed their relationship, i liked how innocent they were, then nessie comes and Edward and Bella are like "mature" and Bella became this super-mom, that was annoying too. I felt bella really changed and she was distant from edward (not intentionaly, she was just busy being a mom).

But if you disreguard BD then Bella and Edward are just the cutest couple. I like how in the first 3 books they were innocent and new and that they had to sacrifice so much just to be together.In new moon, i felt thatadded a dynamic to their relationship, Edward really relizes that bella loves him and that was great. I was glad that they were able to have their happily ever after. I think they deserved it, after everything they've been through just to be together, it was great to see them finally happy and officially together.

And the wedding, that was just perfect. Loved it !

I agree totally with most of what you said. If i had a chance to do some things in BD over i would try to do something different from Nessie.
Its not that i totally hated BD its that i thought it could of been so much more.
I mean look at the first 3 how intense they are. And how much they would and do sacrifice just to see each other every day.
I know alot of people hated the happily ever after ending but new moon alone was enough for that.
So thats what i think op quote me and well dish it out

[MariePaz]

When I neared the end of Breaking Dawn, I was sad because it was about to end, but very happy that it was ending well, with Bella and Edward finally together and able to live as equals. The cover picture took on more significance because I DID see Bella grow into the fantastically strong figure, finally being able to save others rather than constantly being saved by Edward, after her conversion.

I read some of the harsh reviews about the book on amazon and other places and I thought, geez, give Stephenie Meyers a freakin' break, this is FANTASY book for goodness sakes!

But, then I'd read some of her own discussions here and at other sites and I realized why this book wasn't as fulfilling as the others. Somehow, Stephenie LOST Bella in the latter part of the book, when Bella becomes a vampire. She couldn't relate anymore to Bella and as a result, Bella (and Edward as well as he is her reflection) lost some of her humanity and her appeal. Bella became invicible, and how can someone have any humanity without any weaknesses? Also, although she has a child, she doesn't seem very bonded with her child. Isn't that strange? I think that's why I couldn't appreciate or like her daughter very much. Bella seemed quite absent in that realationship, as Jacob or Rosalie served as full time baby-sitters in a sort of supernatural daycare system at the Cullen house. I don't really know, after reading the book, if she really LIKES her daughter, or if the mother child connection is ever really there. Nessie (revulsion at the name), is touted as this super-unique individual with her own super powers, but really, after having had 3 children, every single child has been super unique, special, the center of my universe, each in their own time and in their own way. After delivery, the nurses had to pry my child away to give them their shots and ID badges, and I only RELUCTANTLY, would let anyone else carry them during the early days of their infancy. I was surprised Bella wasn't more resentful of Rosalie's or Jacob's bonding with her child. If it were me, Jacob would have been torn to shreds for far less than his behaviour in the book with MY child.

So, I ponder, what made Stephenie Meyer lose that connection? All the studies on fairy-tales and their misogynistic slants would suggest that this is just another "happily ever after" series that ends with the girl getting married, as the culmination of a life's worth of work/effort, THE END. But, having been married for 13 years now, I have to say, the conflicts, the tension, the complexities of love are only partly revealed in the first few years of a relationship. Love grows into something much bigger than that elixir of elation. The give and trade and adjustment, and personal sacrifices-- all given up with difficulty but freely because your husband is your center, your world, your anchor-- is what marriage is about. The pay off is: A lifetime of real love, of friendship, of belonging, and of family. This, in retrospect, is what I wish she would have explored, rather than being so busy continuing to define Jacob and his world and inner heart.

She may be done with the series, but if she isn't, I'd like to plant this seed. I'd like to see Bella (and of course Edward) mature and grow into an adult. I'd like to see Bella assess her powers, understand her weaknesses (her weaknesses are not summed in two words Edward/Jacob, but in her selfless overcompensation in caring for others), and become stronger not just physically, but metaphorically. You don't really see that in the 2 books between twilight and Breaking Dawn. You see her healing, but not becoming stronger or more independent. She continues to NEED someone (Jacob/Edward). But what about NOT needing someone because they leave a hole in your chest or because they conveniently decide to pick up sloppy seconds (daughter imprinting, I get it, but ugh). What about being with someone because you love them and being with anyone else is just plain WRONG and hurtful and destructive (Wuthering Heights). What about making a conscious decision that although that desire can be overpowering, she has more to live for, her family, her husband and her daughter and the temptations just don't exist when you already have so much--"cup overfloweth" kind of thing? In so many ways, Edward's evolution is so much more interesting at the end of the book because I think he "gets it." He sees his departure was the cause of her pain and external dependence on another and he submits to even his darkest thoughts (sharing her fertility with Jacob, ugh again) because it's a sacrifice, difficult but given freely, to keep her happy and alive.

I think anyone who's matured beyond infatuation and has seen the darkest before the dawn (books two and three) realizes that the only strength you can rely on is the one inside, without which you could obliterate yourself in the dark. Like a black hole. She would have been a more interesting, stronger person, I think, if she was the one who broke through the swirling engulfing sea water on her own.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Amivera]

I THINK YOU ARE BRILLIANT!

Very well put. I completely agree!

[MariePaz]

Thank you! Husband doesn't think so just right now. Glowering at me for obsessing over this stuff.
All about the give and take, you know.

He doesn't realize it's all about him after all.

[(E.C.Is.Mine)]

Of course I absolutely love Edward and Bella's relationship..
As everyone has already said their happily-ever-after was WELL deserved after what they'd been through together, for eachother.
My mind is ALWAYS filled with Edward and Bella!

[SweetMom]

I knew fromt he start they were meant to be together. I know there were people who wanted Jacob with Bella, but really Edward and Bella had the connection. There love is the kind of love anyone would want. They wwent thru hell and back to be together and I 100% love that they got a happy ending. They deserved that happy ending!!

[it.never.made.sense]

hi! this is my first post sorry if i don't capitalize haha. i think it's a little ugly, or just me.
i read a fanfic and it's truely bugging me, so if you can help me out read this post and comment, thanks!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i haven't read all the posts here, just a few front pages and the most recent, but i don't see any questioning of bella and edward's relationship.
like, not how realistic their relationship is, but whether it certainly is true love.
recently i read this fanfic, about how bella dives in to the cliffs and injures herself blah blah blah edward takes care of victoria, she falls in love with another guy, falls out of love with edward...10 years later blahblahbla.

and it made me think, is bella's love for edward merely infatuation?
i mean, they don't really talk about much other than about vampires/edward/bella. when they're curiosity is satisfied, what will happen then?
also, jacob himself called edward a drug for bella (in eclipse), well what if one day she overcomes it?
they don't have anything in common, except for their love for each other, how will their days be spent after bd (hahah sex all day 8D)
what i'm saying is, is their love true, or is it fatuation? if given a chance when edward leaves, might bella get over him, like she would an interesting pet who dies?

also, some other things - in the fanfic, bella as her older self finds her younger self infatuated and thinks she didn't see edward clearly then, like how bella never sees edward's faults etc. that "So much of their previous interaction was fueled by hormones and mutual curiosity (in her case, both of him and of vampires). She isn't sure Edward ever saw her as his equal, despite his declarations of admiration. He'd treated her like a blown-glass ornament."

if you want, the fanfiction, can be found at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4500819/1/I ... _of_an_Eye.
it's a fresh perspective.

PS: if you disagree, please do! i'd love to have my dear illusions patched again. this just shatters them heh.